The Jews of Lebanon Project

On November 25, pictures were posted of a Jewish cemetery in the historic port city of Sidon, located in southern Lebanon. We receive hundreds of daily visitors to the site, but it was not a coincidence that Isaac Levy, a Lebanese living abroad, would see the tomb of his father for the first time in 22 years… on the screen of a computer monitor.

We launched this project not through calculation but through conviction, a dialogue over the blog was carried out, and the innocent wishes of Isaac were realized- Fadi (original photographer) once again visited the site and placed flowers on Isaac’s father’s tomb, reciting a prayer, and once again exemplifying the Lebanon we believe in; Lebanon the message of religious tolerance and coexistence. Was it that both of these men shared stories of their fathers, whose bodies are buried in the bosom of the earth in distant lands that brought them together? This bittersweet and emotional story was carried out between two men who never even met each other, who know no more than the first name and email address of the other, to an audience of like-minded people from across the globe who abide to an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole.

The original pictures and the corresponding dialogue where this was discovered: Please Click Here

Now, we present to you the new photographs where Isaac’s father was honored, where Fadi showcases the beauty which is the essence of man. Fadi’s accompanying letter to Isaac and the world:

A promise is a promise. It’s a joyous season, the holidays of the 3 monotheistic religions of our country fall in a 21 day period. Hanukkah, Adha, and Christmas. On the second day of Eid, I packed the camera, and paid a second visit to the very windy and wet Cemetery to recite the Fatiha for Isaac’s dad – in lieu of my own father.

I made it, no climbing this time. The stormy weather was the perfect chance to get closer to the collapsing western side of the cemetery. Better still, I could drive the car right to the front entrance of the cemetery this time.

The tombs of Isaac’s family are not difficult to spot, but the name engravings are not there. I recited three Fatihas, took the photos, and felt a warm sense of satisfaction. Perhaps far away, in the western coast of Africa, my dad would rest in peace, and just maybe, someone would pass by one day and recite a prayer so he may rest in peace.

Peace, such a word we miss. Internal peace, such an emotion we lack. We have so much in common, the same air we breathe, the same soil the holds us together eventually. Good and love are indivisible, and there is plenty of them to keep everyone content. Why can’t we realize that? One day I came over a very interesting verse from the Quran – a very “non-denominational” verse! A verse that gave me, least of all, the answer I sought.

Say We believe in God and that which is revealed unto us and that which was revealed unto Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and that which Moses and Jesus received, and that which the prophets received from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and unto Him we have surrendered. [Quran - 002.136]

If it is religion that separates us, then it is the wrong religion. If it is politics that bring us apart, then it is the wrong politics. If it is anything else, let us reach out and hold each other closer.

In this small beautiful mad country that we call home, we have 18 different denominations; the last and only country in this region to maintain plurality, but at a very hefty price. In this season of celebration of the many faiths, we should be keen to first, realize that we have so much in common, faith wise, country wise, life wise. We have so much to lose if we are off-guard for one second. In this season of holiness, we should realize that Forgiveness is the true path to inner peace. In this season of holiness, when the whole world is turning mad with feuds, with hatred, with wars, with walls and landmines, with religious (sic) segregations, separatism, we are truly blessed, but most of us do not realize it. Some of us who already do have a huge mission.

On the drive back home, I realized that Gibran Tueini (Slain Lebanese journalist, his original oath, click here) in his oath missed an integral part of our society, a wandering lost part of Lebanon - Lebanese Jews! So I took the liberty to rephrase it:

We pledge by God, Muslims, Christians and Jews, to stay united, forever and ever, to defend our great Lebanon, Long Live You! Long live Lebanon!

A belated Happy Hanukkah, Happy Adha, Happy Christmas!

It is a pledge a few of us, soon to grow in number, to preserve our plurality, and to be the defenders of our brothers’ and sisters’ memories and places until their return.

Fadi

A few kilometers south of An-Nijmeh Square/Place d’étoile , Downtown Sidon, lies the Jewish cemetery, on a small hill supposedly overlooking the ever blue Mediterranean. On the western side, the cemetery is in very bad shape, the hill is sinking, and some of the graves have actually tilted.

Unfortunately, the cemetery is right next to the biggest dump in south
Lebanon. A 100-feett high mountain of garbage on the southern coast of
Sidon, by all means an environmental catastrophe. The Sidon
Municipality has had enough pressure and scandals from the media I
presume, so they have guards there preventing anyone from taking
photos. They stopped me from taking the photos of the tilting side of
the cemetery, or from entering it from that side. I tried to explain I
was after the cemetery and had no interest in the dump, to no avail.
Eventually, I had to sneak from the other side of the cemetery, and
climb the dusty hill, in broad daylight, which seems the best time to
sneak anywhere without raising suspicion! There is no “entrance” per
se for the cemetery. I recall there used to be a sign with Hebrew
letters marking the cemetery, but that was removed. I think this is
some sort of “hiding” the place to protect it from vandals.

Many of the inscriptions that only have Hebrew letters are broken, but
those that have Arabic writing and Hebrew letters are left intact! I
believe that there is more than a coincidence to this. I got to know that
last year the place was cleaned by the municipality, the weeds, trees,
etc, seem reasonably within control for a deserted graveyard.

I will try to go in without a very obvious camera next time, or use my
cell-phone camera. I am not sure what can be done to preserve that
cemetery, but my heart broke to think that these were someone’s
parents or grandparents, lying there; they died in their country,
certain that they will rest in peace forever in their homeland. Look
what happened! Nobody, dead or alive, should be desecrated or
forgotten in their own country.

I was not sure what to say when I walked there, so I prayed in Arabic,
a verse from the Qu’ran that the angels repeat to the souls in Heaven:
Salamon Kawlin min Rabb Rahim – “Peace! A word from the Merciful God”.
Our God, their God, everyone’s God. Peace!

-Fadi

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Statement

To our esteemed visitors, www.thejewsoflebanon.org has been honored and afforded the opportunity to participate in the launch of the “Manhattan Project” in Ann Arbor, Michigan on the weekend of 11 August 2007. A brief presentation detailing the history, motivation, and future of our noble endeavor will be incorporated in this revolutionary occasion. Writers, publishers, academics, artists, and clergy will descend from across the United States to participate in this event.

More information about the project is forthcoming.

Mailing List Registration, Please Click Here

We are three London based filmmakers who are working on a project about Lebanese Jews. We are looking for Jewish people who are living or originate from Lebanon to talk about what it is like to live in Lebanon or if you are in the diaspora, your relationship with Lebanon. We want to make a film about what has happened to one of Lebanon’s oldest communities and what it means to be Lebanese and Jewish today. Among other issues we are interested in exploring whether it is possible to be openly Jewish in Lebanon and if it’s possible to live according to Halakha.

Please get in contact with us on diaspora.film@gmail.com

Photos taken in recent days of a Jewish cemetery in Beirut. One of the ideals outlined by JOL.org is the rehabilitation and clean-up of the Jewish cemeteries in Lebanon. The emotional ramifications are worthy our attention, and in due time, we hope to clean up these sites.

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Religious Tomb of Zebulun

Interior of Synagogue

Copyright © Marie-Claire Feghali/An-Nahar Newspaper Beirut

Lital Levy, is an American Post-Doctoral researcher of Iraqi-Jewish descent. She is completing her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature at U.C. Berkeley; her thesis is the participating of mashriqi Arab Jews in the modern Arabic and Hebrew renaissance movements i.e. Nahada and Haskalah. She is concurrently pursuing a Post-Doctorate degree at Harvard University.

Peace and greetings to all the viewers,
I am a doctoral student in the U.S. researching the role of Arab Jews in
the nahda (the modern Arabic literary renaissance) and I am looking for
information about the following Beiruti Jews who played a role in this
movement:

• Esther Azhari Moyal (and her husband Shim’on Moyal and son ‘Abdallah
Nadim Moyal)

• Rabbi Zaki Kuhin (Cohen), founder of Tifereth Israel/ al-Madrasa
al-Isra’iliya al-Wataniya, and his son, the writer Selim Zaki Kuhin
(Cohen)

• The writer Selim Eliahu Mann (also a publisher and the founder of the
newspaper al-’Alam al-Isra’ili

I have a very small amount of information about the Kuhins and Mann, and
there are considerable gaps in my knowledge of the Moyals. If you are a
descendant of one of these Beiruti Jews or if you know of a
descendant, please contact me! I am also interested in learning about any
other Jews from Lebanon or Syria who took part in the nahda, especially in
the late 19th century. Very little has been recorded about the history of
Jews in the modern Arabic movement. Your knowledge is very valuable.
Thank you!

Contact Information:
Lital Levy
Harvard Society of Fellows
78 Mt. Auburn St.
Cambridge, MA 02138
USA
lital@berkeley.edu or llevy@fas.harvard.edu

An-Nahar Newspaper Online

Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar is asking any interested Lebanese Jew, whether in Lebanon or abroad, to speak about their experiences in Lebanon and their lives, even those who may have never been to Lebanon. Personal information will be secured and strictly private, this is an unprecedented act of outreach and one we wish to utilize to the fullest. If you are interested in contributing to the piece, and really helping to shed light on the dire circumstances Lebanon’s Jews face and continue to face, and to help accelerate the noble cause of this evolving project within mainstream Lebanese media and society, please contact us immediately by clicking here: Contact Form

“Advance and do not fear the thorns in the path,
for they draw only corrupt blood.” {Gibran}

All friends and supporters of this moral and humanitarian endeavor are asked to please register their email address as we pursue the establishment of an NGO that will have the capability of engaging and successfully carrying out this project. This isn’t a formal registration and is only a means of communicating with those who may be interested in being on the mailing list which will be published periodically so as to keep people up to date with the process of our work. The mailing list is for all who are interested in the project, even if you are not planning to formally enroll and participate in the NGO.

The NGO is the only means of success. Our aim will be to preserve the Lebanese Jewish community, preserve and maintain Jewish sites scattered across the country, raise awareness amongst the greater Lebanese society, and ultimately promote religious tolerance and coexistence between ALL religious communities in Lebanon. This will be the first such movement in Lebanon and around the world and will be strictly humanitarian.

I want to thank the many who have already registered and those who will henceforth. We will prove to our country and to the world that religious tolerance and coexistence, and particularly Lebanon’s greatest manifestation of its religious diversity, it’s Jewish children, is the salvation for world peace. We will initiate an unprecedented project and trend within our society and the world, and in due time, we pray that our noble ambitions can be realized.

Warmest personal regards,
Administrator

Register here: Mailing List Registration

Thursday, February 8, 2007
8:30pm - 10:00pm

CONCORDIA UNIVERITY SGW HALL BUILDING H-435
MAISONNEUVE AND MACKAY
Montréal, Quebec